Video: 'An American In The Taliban | Flashback | NBC News' (July 15, 2002, at 2:38)

(Monday, July 15, 2002, morning EDT; during Operation Enduring Freedom, part of the War on terror and War in Afghanistan) — John Walker Lindh, a 21-year-old American traitor who was captured as an enemy combatant during the United States’ invasion of Afghanistan, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to two felonies in a surprise deal with prosecutors sparing him life in prison.

Lindh denied participating in the 2001 Battle of Qala-i-Jangi, a violent uprising of the Taliban prisoners, stating that he was wounded in the leg and hid in the cellar of the Pink House, in the southern half of the fort. He was one of 86 of the estimated 400 prisoners to survive the uprising, in which CIA officer Johnny “Mike” Spann was killed.

After cooperating in the investigation of the terrorist network, Lindh was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released on supervision on May 23, 2019, for a three-year period of supervised release.